Lorne Jenkins named to local foundation board

Last month, Lorne Jenkins, a former Niwot resident and CEO of Mini Money Management, was named to the Board of Trustees for the Longmont Community Foundation, a public charity dedicated to "improving life in the St. Vrain Valley."

"It was kind of a no-brainer for me," the former Cougar track star said of his decision to accept LCF's invitation. "I'm joining at a unique time because it pretty much is primarily Covid-based, and the basic things are planning around what's going to happen with Covid in the coming months."

In fact, it was through a pandemic-related grant program that Jenkins started working with the LCF. In May, the group worked with local government and business leaders to launch the Strongmont Fund grant initiative, aimed at helping small businesses impacted by the spreading pandemic. With donations from the City of Longmont, the Longmont Downtown Development Authority, the Longmont Economic Development Partnership, and community members, the fund awarded $223,000 to 23 businesses on May 29.

However, both the initiative and the LCF received backlash from minority businesses owners who felt that their unique concerns had been overlooked by the organizers.

"A lot of people in the Spanish-speaking community weren't aware that it existed and there wasn't an application in Spanish," Jenkins said. "There was actually a lot they didn't get right."

That prompted the organization to do some soul-searching, and a public apology from LCF Executive Director Eric Hozempa soon followed.

"I'm not proud of the fact that I (we) didn't do enough to help provide grants to businesses of color in Longmont," read a statement released by Hozempa on June 24. "Put simply, I'm guilty of hubris, and I apologize... I did not recognize the inherent biases with the Strongmont grant process, and how that would affect who was selected."

Jenkins was one of the numerous business community members Hozempa reached out to in an effort to "make it right."  He was then invited to advise LCF on the launch of a second round of granting, Strongmont 2, that would give preference to "businesses of color" facing COVID-19 related impacts. Launched in late June, the new program included an updated application, which Jenkins helped design, as well as additional support for applicants and a video application option. That effort eventually awarded more than $100,000 to another 23 small businesses.

Jenkins was impressed by Hozempa and LCF's willingness to own up to its "critical missteps" in the initial Strongmont program, another reason he was happy to accept their invitation to join the organization on a more permanent basis.

"It's very easy to either put the blame on somebody else or not admit fault, but he just told me extremely candidly, 'We didn't do a good enough job the first time,'" Jenkins recalled. "Honestly, I don't think it's the mistakes people make, we always laugh and say it's the doubling down. And for him to recognize that what he did and what everyone did wasn't the best thing to do, whether or not it was intentional, was huge. That's the kind of work I can get behind."

Jenkins officially assumes his three-year term with the LCF on January 1, and he is getting to know the organization and his duties in the interim. He also continues to helm Mini Money Management, a financial literacy application for kids launched earlier this year.

"We're really starting to get some traction in schools and with teachers," he said. "We've started teaching classes, and we've had social media pushes that have gone super well, so really there are no complaints here. Just a lot of people are getting excited about learning about money, so it works out well."

As for future LCF initiatives, Jenkins expects the pandemic and secondary effects from the lockdowns to take primary concern, probably for at least the next year. He said the pandemic has provided an opportunity for the organization to learn to "listen" to community concerns and let those concerns guide decisions.

"I think a lot of people didn't know how to help, but they just knew that they wanted to help," Jenkins said. "Which I think was a good place for them to be because then they had to turn around and listen. And so I think it's getting out into the community and seeing what the community needs and getting some ideas to put forward."